Broken
by Tempepayze
Summary: After Castiel consumes a new form of grace the soul bond that had been muted while he was a human springs back to life...


Once he had cannibalized the other angel's grace Castiel immediately felt the holy power rushing through his veins. He felt strong and whole and better than he had in a long time. All of this was then combined with a severe pain as his bond with Dean Winchester forged itself back into order. The bond had long since gone from being just bound to his grace but instead had been bound to every part of him. Humans were not capable of feeling the true extent of such profound bonds so while he was human the bond was muted. Now that he had grace again the bond was vibrating. It did not like this new grace he had acquired but it would have to make do. Castiel had bigger things to worry about; he had to prepare for war.

He knew that what he had done was a horrible offense but he knew that he had no other choice. He was useless to anyone while he was human. He felt hurt and pain for all the angels that did not survive the fall. Then he remembered.

There was an angel masquerading as Ezekiel and he had established himself with the Winchesters. Whoever it was must not have decent intentions because there was no other reason to masquerade as someone unless you had a less than savory backstory. He had to warn Dean. He could not bear if any harm came to Dean. Of all the wonders on the earth the only thing that truly mattered is that Dean was safe. When he had saved Dean from Hell he had gained so much more than he could have ever hoped for. He made a short call to Dean's cell to assure that he was okay and to inform him that Ezekiel was not Ezekiel and instructed him on what he needed to do. He hoped that it would be enough.

He was forming his plans when he felt it. A thick, severe, crippling pain viciously tearing through the soul bond he had with Dean. He had not felt this pain in a very long time and he immediately knew that something was wrong. He closed his eyes and tried to filter through which emotions that he was feeling from Dean. Now that he had some experience being human it was easier to pinpoint what was going on with his hunter.

Dean was hurt in every sense of the word. He was so broken and fragile and the pieces kept shattering until Castiel had to pull himself out of the connection because it was becoming too much. The pain was overwhelming and thick. There was guilt, such heavy amounts of guilt almost the same amount of guilt he felt back when they were trying to avert the apocalypse. What he was feeling from Dean was almost like what you would feel from an animal. It was almost identical to the same feeling that he felt when he first gripped Dean Winchester and raised him from hell. Castiel determined that Dean was in pain, he was scared, and he was alone.

Castiel did not know how he was supposed to respond. Dean had pushed him away when he needed him most and now he understood that it was because of this angel. He understood enough to know that somehow this angel got Sam's consent before possessing him. The angel could have done it a thousand different ways but Cas assumed that it was because he used Dean to do so and Dean allowed it. Cas knew that whatever happened he needed to get to Dean immediately.

Cas managed to land inside the living room of the bunker. He could see smudges of ink and assumed that Dean had put up the sigils like he was instructed but the other angel was clever. He must have obstructed the sigils in order to attack or flee, Castiel could not be sure of which one until he found Dean.

A heart wrenching scream pierced through the walls and with the scream more pain came ripping through the bond. Castiel knew immediately that it had come from Dean and he ran in the direction that the scream came from. The bond help direct him straight to his hunter.

Dean was crumpled on the floor next to the body of the prophet, Kevin, Castiel had to remind himself. The prophet's eyes had been burned and he knew that this was the work of an angel. His gaze turned to Dean to access the damage. Tears had streamed down his face and his eyes held the look of something broken and defeated. His hands were bloody and Castiel assumed that it was from punching the floor or whatever was closest to him. Cas could also see the strain that came from being held against his will and he assumed that the angel had used his grace to restrain Dean. Sam was nowhere to be seen so he felt it safe to assume that the angel had taken his vessel and left. Sam wasn't Castiel's concern at the moment, Dean was. Castiel briefly wondered why the angel had not just killed Dean as well.

Castiel knew that he had to get Dean out of the bunker. He did not know who the angel was that was masquerading as Ezekiel but he was a threat and worse he knew where the bunker was. He was inside Sam's head and that made him the biggest threat to Dean at the moment. Castiel also knew that there was nothing that he could do for Kevin anymore and the longer Dean was around his body the more guilt poured through him.

"I'm so sorry. I fucked up. Everyone that I love dies and everything that I touch turns to ash." Dean mumbled before raising his head to look up at Cas. His eyes were so broken and it was such a hard contrast from the Dean Winchester that Castiel is used to dealing with. A nameless angel had done the one thing that no other force had managed to do; he had isolated and hurt Dean.

"Dean, we have to go. I don't know who is possessing Sam and they could come back. I have to take you somewhere safe." Castiel insisted moving over to grasp Dean but Dean started shaking his head.

"I'm not leaving the bunker. If he wanted to kill me then he would have done it before he left. He said he had to do what needed to be done. It was like he didn't want to kill Kevin but he did anyways." Dean said softly his voice hoarse from crying. Castiel sighed and resigned himself to doing as the hunter asked and not whisk him away. Dean was in a delicate state and Castiel did not want to cause him anymore distress.

Castiel pulled Dean up from the floor and stood his ground as Dean tried to fight him. The fight didn't last long and finally Dean slumped into Castiel. Slowly they made their way to where Dean's room was and once inside the room Castiel warded the room so that no other creature divine or unholy could enter. He watched as Dean slowly crawled onto the bed and lay down motionless. Cas sighed before heading over to lay behind Dean. It was a testament to how broken Dean felt when he did not shy away from the added warmth that Castiel projected. He allowed himself to be held and cuddled.

"This was not your fault. I was the one who told you to trust the angel. I didn't know that legions of angels had died in the fall and that Ezekiel was among them." Castiel whispered. Dean curled tighter back up against him.

"I was so selfish. I just wanted Sammy to be okay. Now he is gone, Kevin is dead and I'm alone." Dean whispered. Castiel sighed and reached his arm around Dean's chest to pull him back so that there was no space between them. He breathed slowly and deeply so that Dean's breathing would subconsciously try to match his.

"You are not alone. I will always come when you call for as long as I am able. I need you just as much as you need me. We will find a way to reverse all of this. We will get Sam back." Castiel whispered the promise into the curve of Dean's neck. He didn't know how they were going to accomplish the task but he knew that they had to. Everything depended on it.


End file.
